News

News

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Microsoft-Cisco video interoperability delayed until later in 2020

  Microsoft and Cisco said a long-awaited integration between their video conferencing room systems, originally slated to launch in early 2020, is still on track for release this year.

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Manufacturers turn to servitization for competitive advantage

  Servitization leads to more resilient and profitable businesses, but only a few manufacturers are fully enabled to adopt the new model, according to IDC.

• July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20

  Feds nix college degree requirement for merit-based hiring

  President Trump has ordered federal agencies, which employ 2.2 million, to move to merit-based hiring by the end of the year. This may require an HR technology upgrade.

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Workday admits to Black diversity problem, pledges to improve

  Workday makes HR tools, including diversity software, for half of the Fortune 100. But Black employees make up less than 3% of its own workforce, an issue Workday vows to address.

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Zendesk CRM adds email automation features

  The Zendesk Sell CRM platform adds email automation features for customer engagement as the pandemic cuts off sales rep users' access to in-person customer meetings.

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  SAP Cloud Platform apps deal with pandemic problems

  SAP Cloud Platform is proving to be a useful development environment for applications that address issues brought on by the pandemic.

• June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20

  Slack expands shared channels, but limits remain

  Slack now lets as many as 20 organizations communicate in a shared channel. But users will have to wait for other enhancements to the external collaboration feature.

• June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20

  Act-On now a growth marketing platform, launches upgrades

  Act-On's product upgrades include a partnership with Zapier and enhancements to SMS and email messaging to customers, as well as new creation tools for edits on landing pages.

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  Salesforce pushes forward with DNS security standard

  A Salesforce-backed DNS security model to prevent downtime could become standard for multi-tenant cloud providers.

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  Current crisis clarifies value of SAP intelligent enterprise

  In this Q&A, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott discusses what SAP customers say about the intelligent enterprise and how companies that are moving to it have an advantage in uncertain times.

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  Salesforce collaboration gets mobile boost with new app

  Salesforce integrates chat, text and video collaboration into a desktop interface and a new mobile app, Salesforce Anywhere. It tracks and logs conversations and transcribes videos.

• June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20

  Free end-to-end Zoom encryption alters competitive climate

  Zoom's impending release of end-to-end encryption will pressure competitors to follow suit.

• June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20

  Trump's H-1B work visa ban creates six-month headache

  President Trump's six-month H-1B work visa ban arrives in response to the jobs impact of the pandemic. But it's unlikely to have much of an effect on jobs.

• June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20

  Macs to run on Apple silicon, leaving Intel behind

  Future Macs will not run on Intel processors but on Apple silicon chips. The change could present compatibility issues, although it could be a step toward a consistent user experience.

• June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20

  Salesforce Trailhead adds Einstein AI for learners

  Salesforce's free training site, Trailhead, got AI features based on its products recommendation engine to guide admins, developers and consultants on personalized paths.

• June 22, 2020 22 Jun'20

  Contact tracing technology is hottest new thing in HR

  As people return to work and campus, there's a growing demand for tools that can quickly find coronavirus risks.

• June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20

  SAP Business Technology Platform aims for simplification

  SAP's Business Technology Platform groups SAP products into one foundation for developers; the SAP industry cloud initiative is designed to help develop vertical industry applications.

• June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20

  SAP C/4HANA leads discuss future of CX platform

  New leaders of SAP's customer experience platform discuss its future direction, with a retrospective look at how CRM's past evolved into customer-centric CX technology.

• June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20

  Microsoft Teams, consumer Skype interoperability now available

  Users of Microsoft Teams and consumer Skype can now message and call one another -- with some limitations.

• June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20

  Microsoft Authenticator for Android update adds options

  This month's Microsoft Authenticator for Android update allows users to check their recent account activity and change passwords within the password management app.

• June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20

  Webex to get virtual backgrounds, video breakouts this summer

  Cisco will soon add virtual backgrounds on the desktop version of Webex, along with other features that will bring the platform more on par with Zoom.

• June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20

  IT must prep for the rise of the hybrid team

  Phased reopenings are on the horizon, so IT pros must prepare for a hybrid team approach -- with some employees in the office and others at home.

• June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20

  SAP's Climate 21 program sets sights on global sustainability

  At SAP Sapphire Now, SAP unveiled Climate 21, a program designed to make the intelligent enterprise more sustainable.

• June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20

  SAP C/4HANA users describe e-commerce pivots amid COVID-19

  SAP's customer experience application suite still a priority after a year of senior leadership upheaval at the enterprise cloud vendor, thanks to the COVID-19 economy.

• June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20

  Magento e-commerce content tools get Adobe AI boost

  Adobe connects its Product Recommendations engine to Magento Page Builder to give users a no-code AI tool that offers different products to different customer segments.

• June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20

  Despite glitches, SAP shines light on intelligent enterprise at Sapphire

  Technical troubles marred the start of SAP Sapphire Now Reimagined, but CEO Christian Klein was largely successful in defining the SAP intelligent enterprise, according to experts.

• June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20

  Honeywell Forge-SAP combo improves smart building management

  SAP Cloud for Real Estate integrates with Honeywell Forge autonomous buildings platform to help improve energy efficiency in buildings.

• June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20

  Protests raise profile of implicit bias training

  Implicit bias training has been around for years, but the Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protests are giving it new attention.

• June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20

  Google Chat launches as option in Gmail, replacing Hangouts

  Google is close to replacing Hangouts with the newer messaging service Chat after integrating the product with Gmail.

• June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20

  Epicor Eclipse distribution ERP helps Yesco through COVID-19

  Yesco Electrical Supply is using new features in its Epicor Eclipse ERP system to transform some processes and make it easier to deal with changes caused by COVID-19 disruption.

• June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20

  Sequoia aims to help companies shore up return-to-work plan

  Sequoia Consulting Group's new Return to Work Center aims to help organizations plan for getting back into offices, with tools that enable policy and testing management.

• June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20

  Users eager for Slack to improve video calling

  Slack users were glad to hear the team collaboration vendor was partnering with Amazon to improve audio and video calling.

• June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20

  SAP reimagines Sapphire Now 2020 as a virtual event

  SAP Sapphire Now will go online with virtual content and interactive sessions, but it remains to be seen if the conference will be able to match the audience engagement of in-person events.

• June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20

  Pandemic e-commerce trends point to massive growth

  The pandemic caused consumers and businesses to form new online buying habits; now e-commerce is booming. That trend will hold for a year, or maybe forever, experts said.

• June 08, 2020 08 Jun'20

  Hiring, firing and cancel culture

  Social media is challenging the notion of employee privacy, but it's also providing HR departments with new tools to vet job applicants and employees.

• June 05, 2020 05 Jun'20

  Users waiting for Cisco to expand Webex waiting rooms

  Users are pushing Cisco to catch up to Zoom on features. The latest example: Webex's lack of support for waiting rooms in scheduled meetings.

• June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20

  SAP Sapphire 2020 news, trends and analysis

  This year's Sapphire conference was "reimagined" as an online event for SAP to re-pitch the intelligent enterprise as key to resiliency in challenging times. See coverage here.

• June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20

  Remote work boosts productivity

  Remote work will deliver major changes to the workplace and to the economy, Upwork's chief economist Adam Ozimek says in an interview.

• June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20

  Crestron, Logitech release Zoom video system for home

  Crestron and Logitech have launched a new product for Zoom video conferencing at home.

• June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20

  ERP implementation projects need not stop during crisis

  In this Q&A, Unit4's Andy Brockhoff discusses the COVID-19 crisis and why organizations may find it a good time to keep going with ERP modernization projects.

• June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20

  Pegasystems debuts Pega Process Fabric CX integration tools

  Pegasystems makes a play to be a 'platform of platforms' with Pega Process Fabric, which orchestrates processes between applications in mixed-vendor CX tech stacks.

• May 29, 2020 29 May'20

  SAP, InstaFreight partner to reduce freight costs, complexity

  The SAP Logistics Business Network integration with InstaFreight is aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of finding carriers and shipping goods throughout Europe.

• May 29, 2020 29 May'20

  Ivanti updates its unified endpoint management

  Ivanti Unified Endpoint Manager 2020.1 was released this month, emphasizing remote work features for IT pros and noting the importance of endpoint management in the 'new normal.'

• May 29, 2020 29 May'20

  Facebook Shops, Salesforce deliver quick e-commerce tools

  During pandemic stay-at-home orders, Salesforce, Facebook and Instagram capitalize on the digital sales boom that resembles a three-month holiday surge that hasn't let up.

• May 29, 2020 29 May'20

  Cloud-based ERP rollout benefits from remote work

  Vertical Aerospace launched a cloud-based ERP project at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift to remote work turned out to help -- not hurt -- the project.

• May 29, 2020 29 May'20

  Zoom faces challenges in implementing end-to-end encryption

  Zoom has released a draft plan to enable end-to-end encryption in four phases. The company has not said when it will launch.

• May 28, 2020 28 May'20

  Pega Academy goes free with Trailhead-like badges

  On the eve of his company's user conference, Pegasystems CEO Alan Trefler discussed COVID-19, RPA tech, free Pega skills training and a new appreciation for old rival Salesforce.

• May 28, 2020 28 May'20

  Microsoft, Cisco chase Zoom on virtual breakout rooms

  Zoom is once again out ahead on features with its support for virtual breakout rooms. Microsoft and Cisco are trying to catch up.

• May 26, 2020 26 May'20

  Manufacturer turns to micro apps to save time

  An electronics manufacturer is in the planning stages of implementing micro apps in Citrix Workspace in the hopes of saving time and easing distractions.

• May 22, 2020 22 May'20

  Machine health systems play critical role in age of disruption

  As the COVID-19 crisis disrupts industries, manufacturers can keep lines running by using machine health monitoring systems to manage equipment and diagnose problems remotely.

• May 22, 2020 22 May'20

  Facebook to launch Workplace Rooms in challenge to Zoom

  Workplace Rooms, a new video conferencing service for Facebook's business customers, falls short of competitors on features.

• May 21, 2020 21 May'20

  Adobe Experience Manager buoys U.S. census during pandemic

  The first U.S. Census digital experience was launched in time for the pandemic, and now Adobe looks to parlay the success into more government business.

• May 21, 2020 21 May'20

  Zuckerberg lists benefits, drawbacks of remote work

  After the pandemic, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes his firm will have more employees who work remotely, with at least half of its employees doing it full-time. He sees some clear benefits in recruiting and retention.

• May 21, 2020 21 May'20

  Pandemic could accelerate convergence of audio, video calling

  In the future, businesses may invest less in traditional telephony and look to buy audio and video services from the same vendor.

• May 21, 2020 21 May'20

  SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2005 focuses on supply chain

  The latest version of S/4HANA Cloud has functions for supply chain, finance and SuccessFactors integration that will likely appeal to companies dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

• May 20, 2020 20 May'20

  RevOps strategy keeps B2B sales moving during pandemic

  Revenue operations purports to orchestrate the technologies governing marketing and sales and measure their effectiveness. During the pandemic, the strategy is put to the test.

• May 19, 2020 19 May'20

  Microsoft buys Softomotive to boost Power Platform RPA

  Microsoft's acquisition of Softomotive gives Power Automate users a low-code RPA system to build bots for Windows-based tasks.

• May 19, 2020 19 May'20

  Compass Coffee's post-pandemic plan starts with bulk hiring

  The owners of Compass Coffee believe that most HR functions can be automated and there's no need for an HR staff. It's now looking at bulk hiring to speed up its reopening.

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  Microsoft acquisition of Metaswitch aimed at carrier UCaaS

  Microsoft's acquisition of Metaswitch will provide carriers with the option of offering Metaswitch UCaaS through Azure. Metaswitch complements the recent Affirmed acquisition.

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  Talkdesk adds virtual agents, rebrands CCaaS suite as CX Cloud

  Talkdesk refocuses it CCaaS suite on customer experience by adding 20 features, including virtual agents and remote work features for contact center agents.

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  At long last, Microsoft Teams to get multiwindow support

  Microsoft Teams is finally getting multiwindow support to help with multitasking.

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  Oracle Analytics for Cloud HCM gives new capabilities to HR

  The newly released tool is designed to give HR managers more ability to run their own analytics and merge employee data with finance data in new ways.

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  SAP HANA database turns 10

  In this Q&A, SAP's Gerrit Kazmaier discusses how the SAP HANA database has become the platform to enable the intelligent enterprise by combining transactional and analytical data.

• May 14, 2020 14 May'20

  Cisco looks to close gaps in Webex Teams video conferencing

  Cisco Webex Teams still does not have all the same video conferencing features as Webex Meetings.

• May 14, 2020 14 May'20

  Adobe releases AI tools for sales, marketing and e-commerce

  Adobe beefs up its AI tools for Experience Platform, including a customer intelligence tool and ones for leads, content matching, channel monitoring and customer journeys.

• May 13, 2020 13 May'20

  Managed cloud ERP services keep businesses afloat in crisis

  In this Q&A, Ryan Etinson of Syntax discusses why companies that use a managed cloud services provider for their ERP systems don't have to worry about system stability.

• May 13, 2020 13 May'20

  Cornerstone takes next steps in Saba acquisition

  Following its acquisition of Saba Software, Cornerstone OnDemand is appointing Saba's CEO, Phil Saunders, as its new leader. Product integrations are planned.

• May 12, 2020 12 May'20

  Salesforce coronavirus contact tracing platform goes national

  Salesforce gets involved in state and local health authorities' coronavirus contact tracing efforts in New York City, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California and Louisiana.

• May 08, 2020 08 May'20

  Salesforce adds contact tracing, employee wellness to Work.com

  The hub uses a number of tools like response management, employee wellness assessment and shift management to help companies reopen and bring employees back to their offices.

• May 08, 2020 08 May'20

  SAP App Center a bridge between ISVs and customers

  SAP customers and ISV application developers describe how they use the SAP App Center to find and deploy useful, integrated and technically validated SAP apps.

• May 08, 2020 08 May'20

  Pega adds unified messaging to customer case management

  Pega Customer Service Unified Messaging Edition, built from last year's In The Chat acquisition, adds omnichannel messaging to the company's customer support cloud platform.

• May 08, 2020 08 May'20

  Pandemic sparks new ideas for home collaboration devices

  Vendors are looking to create new kinds of collaboration devices as businesses look to equip home workers with better communications gear.

• May 07, 2020 07 May'20

  U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to stop issuing new H-1B visas

  Citing Depression-level unemployment, Republicans want Trump to halt the H-1B visa program, or at least stop issuing new visas. They argue that guest workers undercut U.S. workers.

• May 07, 2020 07 May'20

  Google fights back against Zoom with a free version of Meet

  Google Meet is now free to all. But the video conferencing service still lacks essential features for business users.

• May 07, 2020 07 May'20

  Salesforce Lightning App Builder adds low-code forms features

  Salesforce Lighting App Builder will include oft-requested low-code features for building complex forms that previously required developer coding to create and update.

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  IT needs durable remote work strategy to keep employees home

  After the initial rush, IT admins are now faced with how to keep remote work going.

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  Pandemic causes Hershey's to pause ERP project

  Major parts of The Hershey Co.'s ERP project, notably its supply chain, is being put on hold for a year as the firm adjusts to pandemic-related business needs.

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  Cloud-based ERP keeps SMBs running during pandemic

  Many SMBs have found that moving to cloud-based ERP systems has helped keep the lights on by allowing employees to access enterprise applications from home.

• May 05, 2020 05 May'20

  ServiceNow CSM navigates pandemic, partners with Adobe

  ServiceNow connects its Customer Service Management environment to Adobe Experience Manager to improve support experience through deeper personalization.

• May 04, 2020 04 May'20

  Customer service agents, chatbots dial up empathy in pandemic

  AI virtual assistants can provide help for embattled customer service agents during the pandemic, but adapting them to changing customer needs and new business models isn't simple.

• May 04, 2020 04 May'20

  How to renegotiate your ERP contract during a pandemic

  ERP consultant Marcus Harris provides advice on renegotiating ERP contracts when the scopes of ERP implementation projects change due to the COVID-19 crisis.

• May 01, 2020 01 May'20

  Conversational AI to help with high demands in contact centers

  Replicant and Nuance Communications have announced tools aimed at curbing the influx of calls during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited the number of customer service reps.

• May 01, 2020 01 May'20

  ERP implementation challenges grow in COVID-19 crisis

  ERP implementation experts Marcus Harris and Daniel Saeedi tell how organizations can manage ERP project disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

• May 01, 2020 01 May'20

  U.S. set $20M contract to gig work call center Liveops

  Liveops Inc., a gig work pioneer, has been hired by the U.S. Small Business Administration to take calls from businesses seeking relief under the CARES Act.

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Zoom could have far fewer users than previously reported

  Zoom clarified its tally of 300 million participants counts users multiple times in some cases. The company also fixed a blog post that wrongly referred to participants as 'users.'

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Live conferences shift to virtual events, yield surprising results

  Digital events can't replace live conference experiences, but organizers who quickly shifted to virtual event platforms report surprising benefits and expect to use them long-term.

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Celonis process mining edges toward autonomous enterprise

  The Celonis process mining platform now has Operational Applications for accounts payable and supply chain that allow companies to take automated actions on processes.

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Users demand improvements to Microsoft Teams calendar

  Users must sometimes toggle between Microsoft Teams and Outlook to get work done because of features missing from the calendar in Teams.

• April 28, 2020 28 Apr'20

  For HR, future of work now includes contact tracing

  A return to work means managing COVID-19 infection risks. HR is getting tools to help accomplish this management, as well as an app to automate contact tracing.

• April 27, 2020 27 Apr'20

  Acquia releases Drupal 9 migration tools

  Many Drupal users didn't migrate from versions 7 to 8. Now that 9 is out in beta, Acquia offers a sandbox and assessment tools to move Drupal users into the more secure version 9.

• April 24, 2020 24 Apr'20

  Martech budgets slashed, more layoffs loom amid COVID-19

  The COVID-19 economy has hit marketing jobs hard. As spending for advertising and martech stall, layoffs mount and still-employed marketers fear the worst.

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Zoom looks to give some users control of encryption keys

  Zoom could soon give some customers control of encryption keys. The company is expected to announce more details in the coming weeks.

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Trump's immigration 'pause' leaves open H-1B action

  President Trump's immigration 'pause' is likely to face court action and ongoing criticism from people on both sides of the issue. The impact of his order is expected to be minor.

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Demand grows for using multiple accounts in Microsoft Teams

  The inability to log in to multiple accounts on desktop in Microsoft Teams is increasingly annoying users. The vendor has not said when the feature will launch.

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  SAP Q1 earnings solid, but long-term danger lurks

  SAP reports first-quarter growth in cloud revenue but a drop in license revenue as the COVID-19 crisis threatens to delay IT infrastructure projects; analysts warn about overly rosy projections.

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Knoa software measures remote worker effectiveness

  At a time when in-person interactions are at a minimum, how can companies tell if their employees are struggling? Knoa says user experience management metrics can help.

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  Coronavirus CX strategy should be flexible, feedback-driven

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses should understand customer needs and prepare their customer service employees for remote work as a part of their adjusted CX strategies.

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  Webex chases Zoom, Microsoft Teams on virtual backgrounds

  Cisco has promised users virtual backgrounds are coming to the Webex desktop app. Customers are calling for the feature that's already in the desktop versions of Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  SAP co-CEO Morgan departs, leaving Klein to fly solo

  Jennifer Morgan will step down as SAP co-CEO after six months in the position. Christian Klein will become sole CEO as the ERP vendor continues to face an uncertain time.

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  In COVID-19 economy, CX teams shrink despite greater need

  B2B companies realign sales and marketing efforts as the COVID-19 economy creates slowdowns and layoffs for some, opportunities and new leads for others.